GOP incumbents leaving because of minority status

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans are suffering an early exodus ahead of next year's elections. That's hampering the party's effort to capture the House majority in next year's elections.

Republicans say lawmakers are weary of life in the minority, today's razor-edged partisanship and the tweets and tantrums of President Donald Trump.

Texas Republican Rep. Michael Conaway this week became the eighth GOP lawmaker to announce he won't seek reelection.

That puts the party's overall departures on pace to match the 34 who stepped aside before the last elections. That was the most House GOP retirees since at least 1930.

Republicans say they don't expect this year's departures to reach that level. But the exits suggest an underlying unease within the party about the hard realities of remaining in Congress.